Do I Wanna Know?
by compositionbook
Summary: For all of Bellamy Blake's life, he has struggled to work his way from the bottom to the top. Now that he has finally made it, he thinks he has it all. Or does he? All his previous notions of life have gone by the wayside when medical resident Clarke Griffin enters his life. And it looks like there's no turning back. AU mainly Bellarke but other pairings as well. Sloooooow burn.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

BELLAMY

Bellamy anxiously looked into the horizon as the sun set, the fading light casting the fields in a golden hue. It was hard for him to just sit and wait. He had always been a man of immediate and direct action. At first, his ambitious and hard-lined personality had been a problem, especially in high school and college. Bellamy always got his work done, always did what he needed to succeed for himself and for Octavia but he had a hard time with authority figures or anyone who got in the way between him and his goals. Back then, his persona translated into a kind of recklessness, a wary rebellion that he alone understood. The upper classes, he felt made all the rules, rules that he and his sister had to live by. Rules that separated him and Octavia for two years in foster care after the overdose of their mother.

But that was before he inherited the ranch. A father he never knew had left it to Bellamy in his will, granting a new life for Bellamy and Octavia. At the time, Bellamy was 22 and a senior in college. They said he was too young to take on such a task but they (whoever they were) could have never been so wrong. All the qualities that made Bellamy a tough pill only made him a great a rancher. He dedicated his entire self to that ranch and it proved successful. The ranch became his ticket out to a future outside of partying and girls and given him a chance to provide for himself and his sister.

His sister.

His heart tightened in his chest as he thought of that afternoon. They had together been herding the cows into the evening pasture when something, he didn't know what, spooked them. Before he could do anything, his sister Octavia was badly trampled by a stampede of cows before she was able to get herself out of harm's way. Bell was no doctor but he could tell that at the very least, one arm was broken, hanging loosely and awkwardly at her side on her bed where he laid her.

But all he could do was wait.

Bellamy had heard earlier that year that there were a few medical practitioners who had set up a program where they were doing house calls outside of Austin to the ranches to help administer medical help as quickly as possible. He had smartly noted the phone number and stuck it on a Post- It underneath the house phone (they kept one in case their cell phone coverage was poor which it usually was). After bringing Octavia in, he had run and grabbed the yellow paper, blindly typing in the numbers on the house phone's key pad and demanded help.

The secretary on the other line had been annoyingly calm when she answered, jotting down his information and telling she would be sending Dr. Griffin over immediately and that the she was luckily only 20 minutes away due to another house call.

When Bellamy hung up the phone, he had felt no relief. He paced back and forth in the kitchen until he found himself standing on the front porch, watching the road as if he could will a doctor's car to appear there.

When it did, he had been staring so long that he almost thought he was imagining it but there it was, a small blue dot in the distance at first before it became a blue BMW in his driveway. A blonde woman in a white lab coat rushed out of the car, slamming the door so hard that the the vehicle jostled slightly. A tall, dark man in scrubs stepped out of the car as well and followed her as she ran up the steps and onto the porch.

"About damn time," Bellamy greeted her coarsely while leading her quickly into the house. "I thought these house call doctors were supposed to be fast."

"Never mind that," the woman said, her blue eyes glaring back at him for his comment, "where is she?"

Bellamy opened the door and led them into Octavia's room where the pretty brunette laid, moaning in pain. He wasn't surprised she that she hadn't passed out from the pain; his sister was made of pure steel.

The woman and man approached the bed quickly, checking his sister's vitals and injuries.

"My name is Dr. Clarke Griffin and this is my assistant, Wells Jaha, a nurse practitioner," Dr. Griffin said as she surveyed her sister, gently touching Octavia's arm and then prodding at the girl's ribs. "It looks like we have a few broken ribs here and a broken wrist. We are going to need to set the bone in her wrist back in place as soon as possible," Bellamy watched as Wells put some kind of liquid into a syringe, and stuck his sister's unbroken arm with its needle.

"Dr. Griffin will have to do this before the pain meds set in…" Wells gently but firmly. "I'm not sure if you will want to watch," Wells looked at Bellamy now, his eyes matching the serious tone in his voice. It wasn't going to pretty.

"I'm not going anywhere," Bellamy stated matter-of-factly. In fact, he moved over to his sister's unbroken wrist and held her hand. There was no way in hell he was leaving his sister when she needed him the most. "Octavia, did you hear what they said? It's going to hurt but I'm gonna be right here." Octavia looked at him, her lips set in a hard line.

"It will be over quickly," Bellamy noticed that Clarke looked into Octavia's eyes when she said this, asking for tacit permission. When Octavia nodded, Clarke took the broken limb into her hands and efficiently snapped it back into place. Octavia grimaced in pain but refused to make a sound.

"You are brave," Clarke responded gently with a small smile. Bellamy couldn't help but study her face in that moment. She was clearly gorgeous; there was never a day that Bellamy Blake wouldn't notice a beautiful girl walking into his home, even under these circumstances. Her eyes were an electric blue that changed from icy to warm with her emotions (and depending on which Blake she was dealing with). Her blonde hair curling in loose waves just a bit past her shoulders. Her brisk and well-to-do behavior bothered him but he couldn't help but notice how gentle she was with his sister.

At these thoughts Bellamy shook his hair out of his face; this was not the time for checking out the doctor.

After setting the wrist, Clarke and Wells bound Octavia's wrist and ribs carefully. The pain meds had slowly begun to set in and Octavia wavered between consciousness before dozing off. As the girl succumbed to sleep, Bellamy heard sirens and ran out to see an ambulance pulling into the driveway. Two paramedics, a lanky man with brown hair and a small woman with ginger-colored hair, made their way into the house.

"What's going on?" Bellamy exclaimed, "I didn't ask for an ambulance."

"Your sister dislocated her wrist when she broke it; she will probably need surgery. I did all I could here but we need to further examine her at the hospital," Clarke responded curtly.

"Well, I'm riding with her then, " Bellamy replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No," Clarke responded, "it's not a life or death situation; you can follow the ambulance with your car."

"To hell with that! I'm not going to just leave my sister alone. What happens when she wakes up and knows no one?"

"Don't speak to Clarke like that," Wells began but Clarke put a hand on his arm.

"She will be fine. She is in good hands with Jasper and Monroe; I personally asked for them when I first got the call about your sister's injuries." Clarke looked at him earnestly when she said this, clearly hoping that he would heed her direction without too much fuss.

Bellamy knew that she was making sense and that she was following protocol but he also knew that Octavia hated hospitals ever since their mother died in one after she overdosed. He was about to argue further and Clarke must have sensed that because she sighed heavily and said, "If it makes you feel better, you can ride with me."

Wells grumbled at this but the matter was settled.

As Octavia was wheeled into the ambulance on a stretcher (the image made Bellamy's stomach turn), the trio climbed into Clarke's luxurious car.

"Man," Bellamy exclaimed bitterly, "looks like being a doctor really pays off."

"Should it not?" Wells responded heatedly, "Clarke literally saves lives on the regular. Do you think she doesn't deserve a nice car for that?"

"As if she even got this herself. Let me guess; Mommy and Daddy got this shiny thing for you as a graduation present." Bellamy knew he was being a jerk but it was all he could do to keep his mind off of Octavia. He knew that she would be okay, but sometimes he fretted like a mother hen about her. He just couldn't help it. After years being separated in foster care, Bellamy was tired of being forcibly split from his sister.

It looked like he had hit the nail on the head with his comment too; Clarke was gripping the car wheel angrily, pressing her pink lips together tightly. Bellamy distantly thought about how soft those lips looked but pushed the thought away quickly. No doubt this girl, with her BMW, medical school degree and manicured nails had everything handed over to her like it was nothing.

"I'm right, aren't I, Princess?" Bellamy smirked.

"Don't call me that! You don't know anything about me or my life and I'm going to have to ask you to lay off, Mr... Mr uh"

"...The name's Blake. Bellamy Blake."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

~Clarke~

This Blake guy was getting on her last nerves. Throughout the car ride, Bellamy had endless amounts of criticisms of her from the way she dressed, the way she talked, the car she drove… he was lucky that her job was to heal people and not kill them.

What had been the final straw was when Bellamy found out at the hospital that Clarke was a resident.

"What do you mean that you sent some amateur to take care of my sister?" Bellamy demanded of the overseeing doctor.

"I would like to point out that this amateur did a pretty damn good job of taking care of your sister," Clarke reminded him sternly. She was so tired of his crap.

Bellamy looked like he was about to say something but his sister, who was sitting on the medical bed between them, stopped him, "Oh come on Bell. You're being absolutely ridiculous and you know it. If you wouldn't mind, I would like it if you would cool it before I have to go under for surgery." Because of the kind of fracture, Octavia was going to have metal in her wrist to keep her bones together. Clarke looked at her thoughtfully. Octavia looked to be around her age with thinner frame and long, straight brown hair that framed an incredibly gorgeous face. It was clear that Octavia carried the same determined personality that Bellamy did but in a way that was a hell of a lot less offensive. Clarke could imagine herself being good friends with Octavia. With Bellamy? Not so much.

Not wanting to disturb her patient further with useless banter, Clarke left the room promptly, walking down the halls of the hospital. She had already had a pretty bad day without Bellamy rubbing it in her face that she was a lowly resident. Residents weren't treated well by the hospital as doctors to begin with so it was a low blow to be criticized by the family of a patient. It didn't help that her mom was the chief of surgery here and was constantly pushing her to be the best.

Clarke sighed heavily at the thought. It didn't matter that Clarke had gone to preschool a year earlier than everyone else or that she had gotten through undergrad at Princeton in 3 years instead of 4; she would always be pushed to be better by her mom.

Clarke was so lost in the awful mood that Bellamy had put her in that she nearly walked straight into a set of shoulders that just barely reached her nose.

"Oh! I'm so sorry- Oh hey Finn!"

The man in front of her boyishly grinned down at her, "Hey Clarke! How are you doing today?"

Finn was an art therapist who had been assigned to help with the reconstruction of the children's wing in the hospital. His easy going and charming nature had Clarke's heart fluttering in her chest, no matter how much she tried to quiet it.

Clarke's love life had not been easy. When Clarke was at Princeton for undergrad, she met and fell in love with another student there, Lexa. Lexa was part of the New York elite: beautiful, strong and born to be a leader. When Clarke met her, Lexa was about to inherit a business that had been around for centuries; Lexa's family had been one of the first immigrants to New York.

At first, Clarke was put off by Lexa's determination to push aside feelings in order to pursue her dreams of being one of the most influential leaders in corporate America. However, that was before Clarke learned why; Lexa planned to change the business into something that could make the world a better, safer place.

With Lexa, Clarke too began to dream on a more global scale. She tossed around the idea of becoming involved with medical legislation instead of medicine directly as a doctor. She dreamed about standing with Lexa as global leaders, making a huge difference. She also dreamed about the electric glamor of the New York blue blood elite. Of summers spent in the Hamptons and shopping sprees in Manhattan. And doing it all at Lexa's side.

But that was before Clarke's father died, leaving her mother all alone in a small town outside of Austin, Texas. A town that she grew up in, a town surrounded by ranches and farms that didn't have the proper medical support they needed to do more than just survive. The hospital, named the Ark, was falling apart and Clarke's mom Abby, the chief of surgery, and the head of the Ark's board Thelonius Jaha were struggling to meet the needs of the community due to lack of resources and willingness of new doctors to come out to the middle of nowhere to help better the programs. In the end, Clarke realized that her true dream was to come back to her people, to make a difference with them. It was a more humble dream but with each step that Clarke took to get closer to it, she realized that this dream suited her better.

When Lexa and Clarke parted, it was bittersweet. They both knew they couldn't be together but they were proud and full of love for the other. Clarke hadn't spoken to Lexa since graduation but from what she could gather from Facebook, Lexa had acquired full control over the company she had worked so hard for and was currently improving working conditions for her workers in Asia.

Even 5 years later, Clarke could still feel the invisible pull towards Lexa. And when the Ark's children's wing was anonymously financed for reconstruction, a fierce dream Clarke had only talked of once while lying in Lexa's arms, Clarke knew that Lexa felt the same way. Despite it all, Clarke hoped that her connection to Lexa would never change.

It felt almost serendipitous that Clarke would meet Finn through the very project that Lexa had commissioned, as if there was hope for a new love. Clarke doubted already that Finn would ever be replace Lexa but she hoped that his gentle kindness would give her heart something new to think about. Over the course of the last month, Finn and Clarke had gone on several dates but often had to work around Finn's busy schedule which was, oddly enough, seemingly busier than hers as a first year resident.

"I'm sorry about ditching last night," Finn said, as if reading her thoughts. "I got called in for an urgent matter with a patient and had to go."

Clarke looked at him. The truth was that it had hurt a bit to wake up in bed alone. Clarke had never been in any kind of relationship where she would have been in that situation before there had been alarms firing off in her head all day about what that could mean. But this was Finn we were talking about here. There was no way that this smiling face in front of her would lie to her so Clarke brushed the doubts aside.

"No problem! Just let me know with a text or something next time? To be honest, it was really weird."

"You are completely right," Finn said smiling as he leaned down to kiss her forehead, "Open and honest communication from now on."

After Finn walked away to head up some terrible mural mishap in the children's wing, Clarke decided it was time to head back to the battlefield. AKA: Octavia's hospital room.

The scene she walked in on was not what she was expecting in the least. Octavia was fast asleep (delaudid tended to do that to you) but Bellamy was not. His chair was pulled up closely to his sister's bed and his elbows were propped up against its side as he stared at her. The look was full of genuine concern, love and fierce protection. For a minute, Clarke wondered what must have happened to the two of them to cause such a look.

It was even more disorienting when Bellamy looked up at her as he realized she had walked into the room, the look in his eyes showing vulnerability that was not unfamiliar in the hospital.

"Look. I'm sorry about being rough earlier." Bellamy's apology was quick and to the point, no added fluff needed.

"It's okay," Clarke said. "I get it."

The door opened suddenly, and Abby walked in surrounded by a few of Clarke's colleagues. At her entrance, Octavia woke up, groggily looking around her.

"Good evening," Abby said quickly as she flipped through a clipboard "Ms. Blake. I am Dr. Griffin, chief of surgery here at the Ark, and I will be handling your surgery tomorrow morning. I have delivered a set of instructions to your nurse for pre-surgery prep and I need you to follow them carefully. From this moment forward, for example, you must make sure to abstain from food."

"Why is that?" Bellamy asked, curiosity leaking into his voice. Abby turned to him as if just then realizing his existence.

"And who are you? I saw no husband in Ms. Blake's charts and you are clearly not old enough to be her father." Clarke winced at her mother's curtness. Bedside manner was sometimes a struggle with Abby who was a great doctor but also all business.

Bellamy puffed up his chest a little before standing up and reaching out his hand. "My name is Bellamy Blake. I'm Octavia's older brother."

Abby looked at Bellamy's offered hand before reaching out and shaking it. "So, I am assuming you are the one we will need to turn to for a few of our missing documents. It says here that we haven't gotten your sister's insurance card… do you even have insurance?"

Bellamy stiffened, "Of course. I just stupidly left the card at home. I can run and get it after the surgery."

Abby frowned at him, "Well, I suggest you get it now, sir, if you do indeed have it." With that, Abby turned on her heel and walked out the door, her gaggle of residents following her taking notes.

Clarke turned to the Blakes, "You'll have to excuse my her. She gets very tense when she prepares for surgery. She is, however, an excellent doctor, and your sister couldn't be in better hands."

"Dr. Griffin." Bellamy's response was icy, his eyes unreadable.

"Yes?" Clarke asked, confused.

"As in related to the Dr. Griffin who just walked out of here like the Sith Lord on his way to kill jedi?" Clarke wanted to laugh at the reference but couldn't under his steady glare.

"Bell. Did you just seriously make a Star Wars joke? You are so lame." Octavia looked at him and stuck her tongue out.

"Well yes, I am Dr. Griffin's daughter." Clarke responded to Bellamy's question, admittedly a bit nervous about what response it would illicit.

Bellamy smirked. "Huh. Figures. Nice car, nice job. Must help to have mommy as the chief of surgery. Wonder what daddy does? Let me guess some stuck up lawyer."

Now that was way too far.

"Having your mother breathe over your neck as a resident, if you must know, is nothing nice. Also, I get that my mom was rude but she is about to heal your sister. Not only that, if it weren't for my mom this hospital, the only one between your ranch and the hour it takes to get to Austin, I'll remind you, would not even be in existence. Also, my father, for your information, is dead." Clarke spat out the last sentence as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

At the shocked looks on the Blake's faces, she knew that it was her time, to once again leave the hell hole that was slowly becoming Room 112 in the hospital. As she opened the door, she turned to meet Bellamy's eyes one more time before saying quietly, "My father was a teacher."

She left then to hurry off to her other rounds, trying to forget the last look of Bellamy's eyes, a look that she had craved for 5 years since her father's death and the loss of her best lover and friend. It wasn't sympathy or empathy, pity or apathy.

It was the look of understanding.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

~Bellamy~

Although Bellamy hated leaving his sister, he knew that it was best for him to leave the hospital and not only for his insurance. In all of his haste, he had not alerted the rest of the ranch hands what had happened and when he arrived back at the ranch, the whole place was in a buzz.

When Bellamy had inherited the ranch, it was in a complete disarray to the point that he thought his father had left him the estate as some kind of cruel joke. However, Bellamy learned from his father's attorney that when Bellamy's father had gone bankrupt, the ranch was the one landholding he refused to let go of; clearly it had meant something to the old man.

Bellamy knew next to nothing about his father. He knew that he and O had different dads and that his dad was where he inherited the Filipino side of his genetics. But that was about it. He had no answers as to how a Filipino immigrant came into owning a century-old ranch in Texas and he had no answers as to why this man, who had never recognized Bellamy's existence while he was alive, decided to reach out to Bellamy in his death.

And to be honest, Bellamy didn't really care. He had Octavia and that was all that mattered.

When he got the ranch, he had immediately set out to get help and he found it in the form of Anya. Anya had been in ranching for years, going from ranch to ranch for most of her life but never really settling down until she had met the Blakes 3 years ago. Bellamy guessed that she had sensed the desperation in his need to get the ranch started and had taken pity on them. Within a day of Bellamy asking her, Anya had moved into one of the ranch houses and started making plans.

After Anya came Harper, Monty, Miller, Bryan and Roan who lived and worked on the ranch. There were other hands and helpers that came around when needed but those 6 became the core ranch hands. They all had shady pasts and were ambivalent about the future but they worked hard and were fiercely loyal and that's all that Bellamy could ask for.

The attorney that had reached out to Bellamy all those years ago had become the ranch's business manager. At first, Bellamy hadn't trusted Kane but soon came to realize that his heart was in the right place.

Now, all 7 of the people who had supported the Blakes in the past three years were pacing about restlessly on his front lawn. When he got out of his black truck, his boots had barely hit the ground before the whole group had run towards him, demanding answers. Anya looked pissed as all get out, Harper and Monroe shared looks of worry and concern, while Miller reached out and comforted Nathan by squeezing his shoulder. Roan stayed back, always the renegade, trying to not seem too interested, but his stiff posture and frown gave him away. It was Kane's calm voice, however, that quieted the rest.

"Where is Octavia?"

"She was run over by some of the cattle," Bellamy paused and put his hand up to silence the voices of concern, "She's fine. But her ribs are bruised and her arm is broken and she will be in surgery to heal her wrist."

"Ugh. Bruised ribs are better than broken ribs. Been there; not fun," Harper cringed, her dirty blonde hair rustling as she shook her head at the memory.

"I told you that you two should never bring the cattle in by yourself, no matter how small the herd," Anya scolded him, her fierce eyes narrowing in on him.

"I know, I know. Trust me, it won't happen again. Now, if ya'll will excuse me, I need to go grab our medical insurance that I stupidly forgot at home… Don't want to hear it, Kane." Kane's response closed with his mouth. Kane didn't live at the ranch but often had dinner with the group in the evenings. When the Blakes were surprisingly absent, he had stayed around to make sure everything was okay.

As Bellamy ascended the steps of the ranch house and turned to look at them all, he realized how grateful he was for this family of delinquents. After years of not having anyone to turn to, it was nice to have a whole group to be concerned when you didn't come home.

~Two Days Later~

After Octavia had her surgery, she was required to stay in the hospital one more night before returning home, when she was finally given permission to leave, her arm bandaged and wrapped in a brace, hanging from her neck in a sling, Bellamy couldn't have been more ready. Even though O and Bell fought like cats and dogs half the time, especially whenever there was some kind of boy involved, the house just didn't feel like home without her.

However, now that she was in his car as he was driving her home, his mind wandered to other pressing issues. For one, Octavia was the only wrangler (or horse manager) that he had on the ranch. He had been in dire need for a wrangler before she had broken several important bones in her body but now that need had gone from important to vital.

On top of that, there was Octavia's health. When the nurse dispatched Octavia, he had told the Blake siblings that they should come back to have the bandages on her wrist changed weekly. Both had grimaced at the prospect of spending more time in the hospital. Bellamy decided right then and there that something needed to be arranged in the comfort of their home and not the clinical white walls of the Ark.

Which led him to the next thought he didn't want to think about; there was only one medical care physician that he could trust to get the job done. It wasn't that he had problems with Wells careful care of his sister. And he would grudgingly admit that Dr. Abby Griffin had done a great job in the surgery. But the one person who seemed to really _get_ his sister was the one person he really couldn't stand.

And that was Dr. Clarke Griffin.

Throughout the course of their forced encounters at the hospital, Bellamy had to deal with her constant patronizing and her I'm-always-right attitude. Half the time that Bellamy was at the hospital was spent yelling at the annoyingly stubborn blonde and the other half was spent watching her storm away in anger.

However, he couldn't help but notice how gentle she was with Octavia. They bonded easily over the couple of days in the hospital, Clarke checking in with every chance she had. partnered with Clarke's medical expertise made her an incredible healer for his sister. And Octavia always came first.

"Geez, Bell. Your silence is giving me the heebie-jeebies," the sister in question interrupted his thoughts as she watched him from the passenger seat of his Ford F-250. "If you think too hard, your brain might explode; I don't think it was made for too much work." Octavia grinned at her brother as he reached over and ruffled her hair for teasing.

"Well, we gotta figure out how we're going to manage house calls for your wrist," Bell responded, immediately getting serious. "I was thinking that maybe we could have Dr. Griffin come by every Wednesday to check your bandages?"

Octavia looked at him in surprise, "Hey, I'm not going to complain but I'm surprised. Don't you, like, hate the sight of Clarke?"

Bellamy glared at her, "Don't press your luck, O. I'm doing this for you. Plus, I am planning on being as far away from that house as possible when she's there. That woman is so infuriating."

"Infuriating. Huh. That's a word I would use to describe you," Octavia stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's the second time you've stuck your tongue out at me this week and this time you don't have delaudid as an excuse. What are you, five?" Bellamy responded, laughing.

"By the way you treat me, I wouldn't be surprised," Octavia retaliated cooly.

~Wednesday~

Bellamy had a foolproof plan to not even lay eyes on Clarke Griffin while she was checking on his sister. He, Anya and Kane had set up to interview new potential wranglers at 4pm, while the other's finished up the day's work out on the ranch. Clarke was coming in at 4:30pm. There was no way that the interviews would last less than an hour so he had a credible reason to stay far away from the ranch house.

Bellamy felt that this was a good idea, not only for him but for everyone else in a 10 mile radius. Things had been problematic even when he had called her to set up their little arrangement.

"Dr. Griffin speaking."

"Wait, which Dr. Griffin? The Princess or the Ice Queen?" Bellamy belatedly realized that this was not the best way to begin a conversation that was meant to ask a huge favor.

"Let me guess; this is Bellamy." Clarke responded icily and Bellamy felt like he could hear her glare through the receiver.

"Bet you've been waiting for this call your whole life, Princess, but I am not calling for me, I'm calling for my sister."

Clarke had ignored Bellamy's stab and fell instantly into doctor mode. "What is it? Is Octavia okay?"

"Yes, she's fine but Wells basically mandated that she needs weekly medical mumbo jumbo and I don't have time for that. Would you mind, I don't, know… checking on her every week?" The words tumbled out of his mouth a little bit less gracefully than he wanted.

"Wow. I'm surprised you're asking me, of all people, to do this," Clarke sounded genuinely confused.

"Well, it was either you or your mother and…"

Clarke cut him off before he could insult her mother again, "You could easily ask a nurse; you don't need a doctor to treat a bandage wound."

"The only nurse I know is Wells and I don't know… I just feel like you're better for Octavia. I mean… there's not many girls her age out here on the ranch… I mean…"

Clarke barely hesitated, "Don't worry, Bellamy, I'll take care of your sister. But you'll have to promise me one thing."

"And what's that, Princess?"

"You'll stop insulting my mother. AND you'll stop calling me that!"

"That's two things, Princess. And it's not my fault your mom's a bitch."

"How old are you? How have you not learned that this is NOT how you ask people to drive 20 minutes out of their way to help you? I will have you know that bandaging a wound is not what I should be focusing on in my residency and…"

Bellamy cut her off before she got too involved in her rant-he already knew how bad her rants could get- "Thanks, Princess. When will you be over at the ranch?"

"ARG."

"Are you a princess or a pirate?"

"Click." Clarke hung up without a comment.

It had taken Octavia calling Clarke back (Bellamy now realized that it would have probably been better if Octavia had called Clarke in the first place) and pleading with her to forgive the "moron" (Bellamy had resented that) to get Clarke to promise to be there every Wednesday for the next month at 4:30pm.

~Clarke~

When Clarke arrived at the ranch house for the second time in a week and a half, she was impressed. When she had rushed in earlier in order to investigate Octavia's injuries, she had not given the ranch house a second glance. She was in full "doctor mode" as Wells like to call it.

But as she stepped out and gazed up at the estate now, she was able to take in just how _huge_ it really was. The house had a massive front porch with a swing and five rocking chairs. Up on the second story, there was also a massive balcony with a table and two chairs. Set against the backdrop of a gorgeous day in Texas, the house looked like a piece of heaven.

The ranch itself was also pretty large; Clarke had only seen a little of it when she drove in but she had seen enough to know that extended incredibly out in the back of the house. In the distance, there were several cabins in a cluster where, Clarke assumed, the ranch hands lived.

Although Clarke had lived in Texas when her family moved in middle school, she had spent her adolescent years in Austin, which was only about 45 minutes away at most, but a whole different world. Austin was a pretty large city filled with artists, hipsters, and cosmopolitans. Clarke knew of the ranch life in Texas but rarely was exposed to it until recently with her new job as a resident in the nearby small town.

As Clarke headed up the steps onto the porch, she thought for a moment before letting herself into the house. If she was going to be here for a few weeks, then she might as well get comfortable.

She was pleasantly surprised to see Octavia waiting for her in the dining area next to the door and massive windows that looked out over the front side of the property. The sun hadn't set yet but it was headed there, and Clarke knew that she was in for a nice view.

Poor Octavia was wrapped in blankets and propped up on pillows on one of the chairs. Clarke was glad that her immediate prognosis was incorrect; Octavia did not have broken ribs but she knew bruised ribs were pretty uncomfortable, especially with a newly operated on broken wrist.

"Hey Clarke!" Octavia said excitedly. Clarke knew that the younger girl was in pain but she could tell that it wouldn't stop her much.

"How have you been? Has the wrist been hurting too much?"

"It's not been too bad but I had no idea how terrible it would be to not be able to use my right arm! I feel like I can't do anything!"

"Haha yeah I can imagine! Have you started on any of your physical therapy yet?"

"No," Octavia shook her long, beautiful chestnut locks, "it hurts too much."

"Okay, I can help you with that as well as the bandage. How does that sound?"

Octavia smiled. Clarke could tell that she probably didn't get to hangout with many girls her own age. The girl was practically jumping with excitement.

"So who lives out here with you? Is it just you and your brother?"

"Oh, there are actually a few ranch hands out here who live with us-they're like family. Bell is hoping to bring in a new hand today since I'm pretty much useless at this point. To be honest though, it's nice having you around. Although I'm close to everyone, I'm not really _friends_ with anyone; the crew is really more of Bell's friends than mine. Plus, Harper has both gotten uh…. close to Bell in the past... if you catch my meaning."

Clarke almost gagged. Of course Bellamy would not only be a jerk but a player as well. She definitely couldn't see the appeal. Well. Then again, his face was pretty uh passable when he wasn't glaring at her. And Clarke had noticed how particularly _strong_ his arms had looked when she was watching him at the hospital. They looked like they could pick her up easily and carry her….

WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?!

Clarke tried to clear her mind as Octavia and her delved into less dangerous subjects: general backgrounds, where they had gone to college and etc. As they went about changing bandages, wrapping rib cages and physical therapy exercises, Clarke couldn't help but study Octavia. Over the past week, Clarke had gotten to know O better through various phone calls to check in. How in the world could such a monstrous brother be related to such a lively and interesting girl?

Speak of the devil and he doth appear.

In Bellamy swept into the room, tall and strong, an instant presence in the house. His white shirt stood out against the tan bronze of his skin.

And those damned arms looked somehow looked better than Clarke had remembered. Thankfully, Bell's cocky smirk at her as he caught her eyes dissipated any of Clarke's disillusions of Bellamy's attractiveness. Jerk.

Behind him walked in a beautiful Asian woman with long legs and light colored hair wearing jeans, a white tank and some mud on her boots. She was followed by an even taller dark-complexioned man with a smooth head and direct eyes. His extremely muscular body was apparent even beneath his gray t-shirt. He looked dangerous, confident and attractive: a lethal combination not unlike Bellamy but lacking the ranch owner's boyishness.

"Oh hello, Big Brother. Who's this?"

Apparently, Clarke wasn't the only one who had noticed the man's magnetism. Octavia's eyes were lit with a fire as she stared at the stranger in the doorway. The man looked directly back at her and Clarke could tell that the two were immediately in their own world.

Bellamy, however, was completely oblivious.

"Well, someone decided to break her wrist so I had to speed up the process of finding another wrangler," Bellamy teased Octavia smiling. Clarke could tell that he was hopeful that O would approve of his choice.

Octavia barely looked at Bell though. Her eyes were trained on the newcomer. "So quickly? I thought you were going to spend days on that decision."

"Well, wait till you see Lincoln in action. You would understand why we jumped to such a quick decision," the woman responded, smiling. Clarke could tell that the woman had also noticed the sudden chemistry between Lincoln and Octavia.

"Hello," the woman reached out her hand, "my name is Anya. You must be the infamous Clarke I keep hearing about."

"Infamous? Octavia have you been gabbing at me?" Clarke turned to her new friend and grinned.

"Actually," Anya smiled coyly, "I heard more about you from the other Blake."

Bellamy looked incredibly uncomfortable. Clarke enjoyed seeing him squirm and she wouldn't be ashamed to admit it. Clarke could imagine all the terrible things he ranted about her behind her back.

Clarke shook the older woman's hand, "well, it's great to meet you, Anya. I hope that you can excuse any of the terrible things Bellamy has said about me." Oddly, enough Anya only smiled at that as if there was something humorous to what Clarke said. What was even more strange was the flush creeping up Bellamy's neck.

"Well, I think that if a new wrangler is going to be approved, that I should have a say in matter," Octavia said haughtily, turning to the red-faced Bell.

"I would be happy to show you some of my skills if you would like," Lincoln said with a small smile. Octavia immediately grinned back, "Sounds like an excellent idea!"

 _Oh boy. They're both goners._ Clarke thought. Clarke wasn't one for love at first sight but the sparks flying between the two were hard to ignore. Outloud she said, "Octavia, you need to be careful; I don't want you messing up all of my hard work!"

"No worries," said Anya. "I'll help her out there." Octavia frowned slightly at the supervision but accepted Anya's hand in assistance any way.

It wasn't until the three ranchers had left through the back door that Clarke realized that she had completely forgotten to talk with Octavia about her options for physical therapy. The two had tried to work through some exercises earlier but had to stop early due to Octavia's pain. It would be better if O worked with someone highly qualified in physical therapy, especially since Octavia had broken her dominant hand and would want as much movement back as possible.

Clarke turned to Bellamy who was weirdly enough already staring at her, his dark eyes unreadable.

"Hey, we should talk about what Octavia should do for physical therapy. It would be good for her to start as soon as possible," Clarke said, ignoring his pointed stare.

Bellamy shook his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, sure that sounds great." He said absentmindedly.

"As long as it's not at the hospital," he added hastily.

"Why do y'all have so much against being in the hospital?" Clarke asked gently, "I feel like most people don't like hospitals but ya'll in particular seem to have a lot against it."

Bellamy sighed as he sat down at the table. "I don't know what O has told you about our mom but it isn't pretty. My mom had good intentions with us but life always dealt her a hard hand. She never felt like she could get ahead. She had no money, no family and barely a high school education. She first turned to men to find solace but then it was drugs and alcohol. When she overdosed, Octavia stayed at her side in the hospital, waiting for her to wake up. O was a child then; she barely knew what was happening. Mom never woke up," Bellamy said it all simply, not looking at Clarke as he spoke but at the last part he turned to look at her with that same unreadable expression. Then he shrugged as if none of it was a big deal and looked away again out the window as the sun began to set.

But Clarke wasn't fooled.

"I'm sorry that happened to you and Octavia," Clarke said, reaching over across the table to gently place her hand on top of Bell's. "It's so hard to watch a parent suffer. I know that your mom would be so proud of you both right now."

It didn't matter that Bellamy was a bonafide jerk most of the time. Clarke could now see the bigger picture of his character and how his story included dark times that were not so different from her own grief. She may not have lost a parent to drug addiction but she did know how it felt to miss someone you never thought you would lose.

When Bellamy turned to her this time, she was taken back by the power of his gaze. It made her spine tingle and her cheeks flush. She removed her hand and the spell was broken.

"So, uh, we should setup some kind of meeting with you and the PT's that I know," Clarke said, all business. "That way you and O can decide who O would like to work with and whether you can setup some kind of schedule where someone can come here or something. Does next Tuesday work for you?"

"In less than a week? You're going to be able organize a group of PT's just meet at your will in less than a week?" Bellamy looked impressed.

"Well… yeah. I've grown up with a lot of these people. I'm sure they won't mind if I call in a favor," Clarke smiled.

"You really are a princess," Bellamy said, his mouth turning into a smirk when Clarke's smile disappeared.

"Stop calling me that!"


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks everyone for the reviews and follows! I am going to try to keep posting every Monday :)

CHAPTER 4

~Bellamy~

Turned out that Bellamy would be seeing Clarke much earlier than Friday. The next day, Bellamy found himself once again on the phone with the blonde beauty.

"Hello?" Clarke's voice was husky with sleep, a detail Bellamy tried to ignore.

"Hey so we need you at the ranch again. Now." Bellamy said the words calmly but there was no denying the demand in his voice.

"Well excuse me but I'm on my break and I just got off of a 20 HOUR SHIFT. YOU CAN'T JUST EXPECT PEOPLE TO COME AT YOUR BECK AND CALL. HOW DID YOU EVEN GET MY NUMBER? DID WELLS…"

Bellamy interrupted her before she could continue. Clearly Clarke didn't like being woken up. "Clarke. One of my ranch hands fell off of his horse. He's bleeding everywhere. He doesn't have insurance. Please…"

"I'll be there." Clarke's voice immediately changed into that professional serious tone Bellamy had noticed she took on whenever someone was hurt. Her doctor voice.

Within 15 minutes, Clarke showed up at the ranch and was surveying the bloodied Roan who was laying on the kitchen table (a move Bellamy was already regretting… there was no way they were eating on that table ever again).

If Bell was being honest, Roan was one of his best ranch hands-not something Bellamy would ever admit to his face. Like most of the ranchers, Roan was the kind of worker you wouldn't want to perform a background check on but unlike the rest of the ranchers, Bellamy knew a lot about Roan's history. Roan's mother, the Original Ice Queen before Bellamy met Dr. Abby, owned a massive ranch down the road that pulled in massive amounts of money every year.

Although there was no way Bellamy couldn't respect the ranch, Bellamy had very little respect for Nia, the queen of the ranch. She bullied the undocumented workers that did most of the heavy work on the ranch, rarely offering them fair pay and often threatening them if they tried to leave. When Roan showed up at Bellamy's ranch asking for a meager ranch hand job, Bellamy had been instantly suspicious. Why would the prince of a massively successful ranch move to such a humble station? It took awhile but Roan earned Bellamy's trust. From what Bellamy could tell, there was no love lost between the man and his mother.

It was unlike Roan to get injured so easily but one of the barbed wire fences had snapped between the cows and the bulls and Roan had gotten jabbed in the leg by a horn. The fences were falling apart; Bellamy had neither the time nor the money to repair them. Bellamy knew as he looked at his fallen friend that Roan's injuries were his fault.

It did not put him in the best mood. He had shouted orders at everyone from brand new hire Lincoln to ranch-useless Kane as he Bryan and Miller brought the large wounded man into the house. Bellamy eased off a bit when Clarke started investigating the wound, her presence calming him. She would know what to do.

He was a little taken aback by her appearance. In her haste to get to the scene, Clarke was not in her typical doctor uniform. Instead, she was wearing black tank top and workout leggings that greatly accentuated her uh… assets.

Anya hovered over Clarke's shoulder, the normal mask that covered her emotions almost completely removed. Anya had been trying to hide her growing affection for Roan but Anya had become one of Bellamy's greatest friends and he could tell.

He could also tell that Miller and Bryan were totally into each other but he pretended not to notice that either. Sometimes when he found himself working by the two couples he felt like his ranch was becoming a lover's paradise and he was the grouchy hermit ruining the aesthetic.

Not that Bellamy hadn't had his share of romance in the past. He had actually had a fling with Harper back during freshman year in college. Both had gone to the same high school and when they arrived at the enormous University of Texas campus they had known only each other. Both had joined Greek life and with all the joined parties and date functions... Let's just say they had made the most of it. It had been nothing serious for either of them, as it as for Bellamy and most of the girls he had relationships with throughout high school and college, and they had parted amiably.

Now it was completely different. It had been almost a decade since Bellamy was some jock freshman at UT. Bellamy had continued through his partying and player phase but things had gotten a bit serious when he inherited the ranch.

Around that time, he had met Gina, a woman who really expected the best in him. As Bellamy embarked on a new chapter of his life with the ranch, Gina was the one who had mature as a lover.

However, despite all of the respect and goodness between them, there was something missing. Bellamy didn't really believe in love, especially not after what his mother had been put through in its name but Gina did. It didn't seem right to allow her to attach herself to him when he wasn't sure if he could give her all that she wanted and needed in a romantic relationship.

By that time, Harper had dropped out of college due to family financial problems at home and by the time that Bellamy had set up the ranch, they were good friends and Bellamy was happy to help her out with a job.

Currently, Bellamy's love life was a lot less interesting. He was focused on making the ranch better each and every day, his growing family of delinquents only making his cause more important. And living out in the country, he met new people very occasionally.

As he watched the blonde doctor stitch up and bandage Roan who grimaced in pain, Bellamy bet she didn't have any problems dating. Heck, she probably had some high school sweetheart that she was probably going to marry and have perfect children with and live in a perfect house with. There was no way that someone that beautiful was left lonely for too long.

~Clake~

As Clarke washed her hands in the kitchen sink, she watched as Anya, Bryan and Nathan helped Roan out the door and into a waiting truck where he would be transported to the cabins. Roan was massive, just like Lincoln. Bellamy, Anya, Bryan and Nathan were no joke either. Having all of them in the room one time was just… Where did all of these giants even come from?

It had been a bit unnerving working in that environment with all of them watching over her shoulder. Even Anya, who had a more calming presence than the rest, was very tense (and clearly in love with Roan) during the procedure. Clarke wished that Octavia had been present but the girl had apparently fallen asleep earlier upstairs, still on those whacky pain meds for her surgery. It would take about two weeks before Octavia would be able to get by without them, especially when she started physical therapy.

With the four other ranchers now absent, Clarke was left with Bellamy who glaring at his newly blood stained kitchen table.

"Regretting your decision to lay a bleeding man where you eat?" Clarke said, laughing at his expression.

Bellamy looked up at her and smiled sheepishly, "yeah I didn't really think that one through." With that, he lifted the heavy oak table, walked through the door and off the porch. Clarke could see through the big windows as he set the table down outside on the lawn and then crossed over to where an ax was sitting on the stump of a tree.

And then he did the unthinkable.

Bellamy lifted off his shirt, revealing the hard, lean muscles underneath and threw it on the ground. He then lifted the ax, took it over to the table and started hacking away at it, turning the oak table into logs.

Clarke kept telling herself as she stood there frozen at the kitchen counter that she was stunned because of the pure randomness of it all (chopping up tables was certainly never a past time she had been introduced to before) not because of how the sweat began to gleam off of Bellamy's shoulders as he took to his task.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Clarke dried her hands, grabbed her med kit and headed out the door toward her car, her eyes completely averted to the spectacle (masterpiece) that was taking place on the lawn.

As she unlocked her car, Bellamy called out to her.

"Wait. You're leaving?"

Clarke refused to turn around to face him in all of his glory.

"Yeah. My business here is done and it looks like you're uhhh busy so I think I should probably leave."

"Sorry if my looks make you uncomfortable, Princess."

Clarke turned at that, adamant that he would not affect her. "Please tell me for the love all things holy that you are NOT going to use that as firewood."

"What's wrong with using this as firewood?"

"It's coated in blood! That's disgusting!"

"I'm recycling! It's not like I can use it for anything else anyway."

"What is Octavia going to say when she comes down later and sees that she no longer has a table?"

Bellamy paused at that and looked down at his table-turned-freshly-cut-logs. Clarke focused her eyes on his face and not the rest of his anatomy.

"Oh," Bell said as if it just dawned on him. "I need a new table now."

Clarke rolled her eyes at him. "Octavia is going to kill you."

Bellamy looked hurriedly back at the house where Octavia was sleeping with an expression of fear slowly crossing his face, "Shit."

"Hah. Good luck with that." Clarke opened her car door.

"Clarke! Maybe it would be better if you stayed till she woke up. She would be less, you know, angry. Maybe?" Bellamy looked at her desperately.

Clarke climbed into her car and grinned. "Bellamy nothing is going to save you from Octavia's wrath when she finds out that you stained her solid wood oak table with blood and then chopped it into pieces." And with that, she closed her door and backed out of the driveway, making a clean getaway from Bellamy and his glistening body.

A girl's gotta take care of herself.

TUESDAY

Clarke watched triumphantly as Wick and Bellamy discussed Octavia's recovery through physical therapy. Earlier, she had introduced Bellamy to 6 other PT's but she knew that Wick would be the one that Bellamy would choose and Clarke did like being proven right. Octavia hadn't shown up for the visit. Bellamy said it was because O asked to stay home and rest but Clarke had an inkling that O stayed less for her injury and more for Lincoln. Clarke and Octavia had chatted a bit over the phone the previous weekend and it appeared things were already heating up between Lincoln and Octavia.

And poor big brother Blake had no clue.

The news of O's love life had brightened her weekend especially since her own love life had gotten increasingly more confusing. Despite their conversation, Finn continued to be aloof and strange, leaving randomly during dinner dates and not staying the whole night when he came to visit. Clarke liked Finn but his behavior was setting her on edge. She certainly hoped that everything would be sorted out by the hospital gala this weekend.

As if sensing her mood change, Bellamy looked over from his conversation with Wick and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Hey you okay over there? You know you can join the conversation instead of standing there gawking."

Before Clarke could form the smart ass reply that his remark was just begging for, she was interrupted as a tall beautiful Hispanic woman walked into the conference room Clarke had set up for the occasion. Head to toe in military uniform, the woman's gait was slightly affected by a limp.

"Hey are you Wick?" The woman said before seeing Bellamy. "Bell! What are you doing here?"

Bellamy turned to the woman with a broad grin and Clarke's stomach clenched with… jealousy?

"Raven!" He walked towards her and gave her a brief hug. "Look at you. It's good to see you back."

"Thanks! I just got back today. I was hoping to surprise The Boyfriend," Raven winked at this, "but since he's already here at the hospital, I thought I'd check in with my new PT."

Raven talked with enthusiasm but her voice wavered when she said the word "PT." It remained unspoken that whatever injury she had sustained, she had gotten while on duty.

"What happened?" Bellamy asked seriously. "I didn't think you would be in any serious line of fire as an Army mechanic."

"Nothing big, I just was shot in the leg. Doc says that if I work really hard at PT that I should get _most_ of my movement back." Raven glanced over at Wick, "But the plan is that I will get _all_ of my movement back."

Wick met her gaze and grinned, "I read over your case files and I definitely think that with a lot of hard work we can make that happen."

"Hey, I'm Clarke," Clarke reached out her hand to the brunette, "I'm a doctor here and I was just setting up Bellamy here with Wick to help Octavia with her hand. I just wanted to say thank you for your service."

Raven nodded at the thank you and hurriedly asked, "What happened to O?"

Before Clarke could explain, the conference room opened and Finn walked in.

"Clarke, I heard you were in…" his voice trailed off as he came into the room, the blood draining from his face.

"FINN!" Raven shouted, racing towards him, wrapping her arms around him. "I am so glad to see you. I wanted to surprise you in a better way but I guess that we can make this more fun later... " She smiled saucily at him before placing a kiss on his lips. "I can't believe I've been away for two years." She said more seriously, "I promise to make it up to you."

"Aw," said Wick, "what a cute homecoming."

"Cute" wasn't exactly the word that came to Clarke's mind as she watched the scene in front of her. She felt a huge not form in the pit of her stomach and a heaviness in her heart before she raced out the door and into the hallway.

~Bellamy~

Bellamy instantly noticed when Clarke's mood changed as Raven's boyfriend walked through the door. She had exited very quietly but in a quick manner, barely offering a quick excuse over her shoulder as she went out the door.

Bellamy followed her out into the hallway, concerned only to find her a few feet away, slumped on a bench with her head in her hands.

Bellamy's initial impulse was to put his arms around her. Living with his mother for years and then with Octavia after she had died had trained Bell in the language of comforting someone in distress. However, despite all of the intense moments that seemed to keep pushing Clarke and him together, Bellamy had only known Clarke for two weeks and wasn't sure if his embrace would be something she would want in this moment.

Feeling his presence, Clarke removed her head from her hands and looked at him. Thankfully, she was not crying but she still looked pretty upset.

"What happened?" Bellamy asked gently as if approaching a tiger. Because that's what Clarke was- a fierce and beautiful work of nature.

Before Clarke could respond, Bellamy heard a door slam and turned to see Finn hurrying down the hall towards them with a confused Raven tagging along behind him.

"Clarke, look I'm sorry."

"Finn, let's not do this here."

Raven looked back and forth between the pair as Clarke stood to look at Finn.

"Clarke, Raven." Finn looked at both of them and the look of panic on his face made Bellamy start to realize what was going on. He too stood, next to Clarke.

"Who is this?" Raven asked her voice was quiet and her face in disbelief.

"Look Raven. I'm only telling you this because Finn is forcing this situation right now and I believe you have the right to know. I thought that I was Finn's girlfriend. But apparently instead I've been his… his… other woman" Clarke spat. Bellamy could feel the rage start to boil up inside his chest.

"Clarke, listen it's not that simple," Finn began but Raven interrupted.

"What do you mean?! Is this true? Finn. What the hell is going on?!"

When Finn hesitated, Clarke drew in a long breath and turned to Raven again, "I didn't know." She said simply and she turned to walk away.

Finn reached out to touch her shoulder but Bellamy blocked him. "Back off."

"This is none of your business."

"You hurt two of my friends at the same time? Like HELL that isn't my business." Bellamy took a step forward and Finn immediately took a step back, recoiling. Bellamy smirked and turned to Raven but she was already shaking her head at him, "I'm going to stay and figure this out," she said quietly, looking down.

Bellamy felt the urge to stay or force her to go but clearly Raven wanted to talk to Finn. Finn was a jerk but Raven could handle herself. Bellamy respected her wishes and turned to follow Clarke out of the hospital.

Her pace was hard to keep up with as she stormed towards her car in the parking lot and Bellamy jogged up to her.

They ended up escaping to a nearby dive bar, and Clarke's friend Wells was on his way. Sitting across from Clarke as she gazed into a half filled mug of beer, Bellamy felt his anger rise again. Even though Bellamy had gone through a player phase, he never messed around with people's feelings. He had always been direct and honest about his intentions in the relationship. And he definitely never played around with other girls when he was committed.

"He's an asshole."

Clarke smiled at his bluntness and then sighed, "This is just the way of the world, I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I face it every day at the hospital. Abusive relationships and their scars. People who cheat on spouses who have terminal cancer for release… Maybe there is no such thing as good or bad or an honest relationship anymore."

Bellamy frowned, "I don't believe that."

"You don't?"

"No. I think at the end of the day, you just have to find someone who has the same values as you do. Some people go from person to person in order to fulfill their desires. And that's okay. But other people prefer loyalty, trust and respect over going with what feels good. You just need to find someone you match with."

"You mean like compatible?"

"No. I don't really buy into that e-Harmony stuff. I mean, I guess it works for some people. But I've seen couples who are completely different from each other, like night and day, but their relationships hold up because at their hearts long for the same things."

It was so strange to be talking to someone about these things, much less someone he was just now getting to know. Bellamy never opened up to anyone except for O and even then he never felt as in tune with someone as he did with Clarke. It was an instant connection like some kind of symbiosis, an electric current that ran between them.

He couldn't help but wonder how it would feel if they touched...

"Hey, I came as fast as I could," a voice behind him interrupted Bellamy's reverie. To be honest, he was a little grateful.

Bellamy looked over his shoulder to see Wells walking up to the table looking mildly surprised to see Bell there with Clarke. Clarke's eyes brightened as her friend joined them and Bellamy felt his jaw clench.

"Wells!" Clarke got up and hugged him before they both sat down.

"From 1 to Lexa how destroyed do you feel by this break up?"

Clarke laughed and then quickly looked at Bellamy as if to see his response at the hinting of her bisexuality. Bellamy shrugged. He couldn't care less; love was love.

"Hah maybe like a six? Or a five? It's more all the lying that bothers me"

"I get that," Wells smiled comfortingly. He looked at her drink, "a beer? That's not what's going to make you feel better and you know it. Hey, uh Tom?" Wells looked over at a nearby waiter's name tag. "Would you mind grabbing this lady right here a margarita."

"Wells! I have a 2 am shift tomorrow!"

"Clarke. That's 12 hours away."

Clarke groaned.

Before Bellamy could ask, Wells turned to him, "Tequila is Clarke's ultimate weakness."

"Oh really, I'll keep that in mind," Bellamy grinned at Clarke. Her face turned red with a deep blush that ran down her neck and past her the v of her shirt…

Bellamy shook his head before his thoughts could get away from him and shouted after the waiter.

"Tom! I need a shot."

~Clarke~

A few hours and shots later, Clarke was groaning into her hands as Wells relayed the events of their senior prom when Clarke's date had gotten way too drunk and had insisted on square dancing to the beat of a Pussycat Dolls song, dragging mortified Clarke across the dance floor.

Jasper and his girlfriend Maya, a new nurse on the natal floor, had joined them an hour earlier and both were howling in laughter as Wells brought up every embarrassing Clarke story he could remember-which was a lot, considering the two had been best friends since infancy.

Clarke felt Bellamy, who had scooted closer to her when the couple arrived, chuckle beside her, "And I thought I was the only one relieved to not have to do prom again," he said grinning at her, his dark eyes looking into hers, making her heart pound. The electricity buzzed between them but her tipsy state made her lean into the feeling instead of pull away.

"Some of us still have to deal with prom," Jasper groaned.

"Hey! I'm excited," Maya elbowed Jasper playfully.

"And that's the only reason I'm willfully going," Jasper replied, planting a quick kiss on her forehead.

Wells groaned. "Please keep the PDA to a minimum."

"Who even uses the word PDA anymore?" Jasper teased, "What are we? Middle schoolers?"

"What do you mean?" Bellamy asked, confused.

"Every year, the hospital has a gala to help raise funds so that we can improve-SHIT."

The older lady at the next table over looked over at Clarke and glared. She quickly put her hand to her mouth and grimaced, "Sorry!"

"O my gosh," Clarke continued at a much quieter decibel. "I completely forgot about the gala. I officially don't have a date thanks to Finn."

"Asshole." Wells and Jasper grinned as they said it at the same time and then clinked their mugs together.

"You know I would go with you," Wells began.

"But neither of us want to deal with our parents' reactions," finished Clarke. Wells and Clarke, despite a small crush Wells had on her when they were teenagers, were completely platonic-a fact that Jaha and Abby just couldn't seem to grasp.

Clarke sighed, "If I go alone, you just know everyone is going to ask about Finn." It was tough dating in the same place that you worked.

"Will Finn still go you think?" Maya asked, clearly like Clarke imagining what kind of disaster that would be.

"Ugh the thought makes me want to break something. The idea of going alone and having to fight off Finn all night… ick."

"I'll go with you." Bellamy's deep voice beside her shook her from her imaginings of the terrible evening ahead. Clarke turned to him.

"You will? You sure you're not just saying that?"

"Trust me, I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it," Bellamy said, his eyes seeming to bare into her soul. "Plus," he added, "we wouldn't want our princess to go to her ball alone."

"Bellamy, what did I say about…"

Wells interrupted her before Bellamy and her could get into their 25th squabble of the evening.

"Now that that's settled, we should probably get going so that you can sober up for your shift later tonight," Wells reminded Clarke.

Her stomach sunk in her belly. The idea of working a 12 hour shift now seemed impossible. She would definitely need a nap beforehand.

They all began to stand up.

"Are you okay to drive?" Clarke asked Bellamy as he stretched, trying to ignore how his muscles moved underneath his shirt. He was her ride back to the hospital parking lot and her car and ever since her dad's accident, Clarke had always taken drinking and driving very seriously.

"Yeah, I only had two drinks, unlike _some_ people," Bellamy teased.

Clarke huffed and crossed her arms. Bellamy looked at her face and outright laughed.

"Are you seriously pouting right now? You're just as bad as O." They waved the others goodbye as they walked towards his car. Bellamy surprised her by walking over to her car side. He opened her car door and as she sat inside, he leaned over it to look at her.

"You're a piece of work, you know that Princess?"

Clarke gave up on trying to correct him. "You're one to talk," she replied.

He smirked. "Guess I've met my match," he said and closed the door before Clarke could assert otherwise.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

~Clarke~

When Clarke arrived at the Blake Ranch the next day, the house was in an uproar.

"... AND IF I EVER SEE YOU TOUCHING MY SISTER AGAIN-"

"DO NOT TALK TO HIM LIKE THAT BELL. I HAVE TO LIVE MY OWN LIFE. I'M NOT NINE ANYMORE."

Octavia was practically screaming as Clarke walked into the kitchen, prepared for her weekly bandaging of Octavia, not for a Blake screaming match. Ironically, Lincoln, the source of all the discomfort, was sitting quietly at one of the chairs in the dining area (there was still no table after Bellamy's lumberjack spree) observing the scene quietly and patiently. Clarke marveled at his self-control.

She, on the other hand, was not blessed with that kind of patience.

"Bellamy," Clarke interjected, making her presence known in the room. "You need to get it together. Octavia is right; she is old enough to make her own decisions."

Bellamy turned towards her, his face furious. "Stay out of this, Princess."

Clarke had the feeling that Bellamy probably intimidated a lot of people. But Clarke was a force to be reckoned with in her own right and there was no way that Bellamy was going to be able to get her to back down on what she thought was right. Bellamy was being downright oppressive towards Octavia and as a fellow woman, Clarke thought it was disgusting.

"Look Bellamy. You're not letting Octavia breathe. Do you want her to be happy?"

Bellamy had been about to retaliate but the last sentence stopped him. He clenched his jaw and then answered.

"Yeah."

"Do you think that Octavia is going to be happy trapped in your house her entire life, living by your rules, just because that's your plan for her? Because that will break her more than any heartbreak ever will. And you and I both know she would leave before she would let you break her."

Bellamy's face fell instantly and a shadow was cast over his eyes. He looked downward.

"I hadn't really thought of it like that."

"Bell. That's what I've been trying to say for what feels like centuries!" Octavia exclaimed, walking towards him and putting her hand on his shoulder. "I love you big brother. But you gotta let me breathe. What happened to mom isn't going to happen to me. I was there. I saw what happened too. You have to believe that I'm strong enough," Octavia said gently.

"You _are_ strong, O. You are the strongest person I know," said Bellamy.

"Then why won't you let me be strong? Let me make my own decisions and prove you right? You've been my mom and my dad for so long, Bell. Maybe it's time you go back to being my brother."

The moment was touching and left Clarke feeling uncomfortable to watch. Clearly, the Blake siblings had walked a long, hard journey to get to where they were now. She felt like a stranger looking in.

Lincoln interrupted her thoughts.

"Bellamy. I know that we didn't start this out right by sneaking around your house and I want to make it up to you," Lincoln said, standing to look Bellamy straight in the eye. "I have nothing but respectful intentions towards Octavia and I will never do anything to intentionally hurt or harm her."

Bellamy looked back at Lincoln before nodding his assent.

Meanwhile, Clarke was barely able to contain how uncomfortable she was. Was the Blake Ranch always this intense?

As if sensing her embarrassment, Octavia turned to her and grinned.

"Clarke! You're right on time! After you re-bandage me, you can go with Bell to buy a new table," Octavia paused and glared at Bellamy, "while Lincoln and I finally go on our first date." This looked like news to Lincoln and Bellamy but when both men took in the fierce look of determination on Octavia's face, they both sighed in defeat. It was no use arguing with O once her mind was made up. Even Clarke knew that.

Caving to Octavia's will, Clarke found herself riding shotgun in Bellamy's large black truck driving towards Octavia's favorite antique shop in Austin. Only someone like Octavia would have people like Bellamy, Lincoln and Clarke wrapped around her little finger.

They rode in comfortable silence as the Texan scenery, painted in the colors of the sunset, passed in a whir around then. It was strange for Clarke to be doing something so average- so domestic?- with Bellamy as riding in his truck with him looking for a table. Her life had changed so much in the past three weeks since she had met the Blakes.

And, Clarke, slowly starting to admit to herself, was okay with that.

She glanced over at Bellamy, who had just taken his eyes off the road to glance over at her, his eyes catching hers. They were as dark and mysterious as usual, but the freckles offset the seriousness, giving him that boyish charm that made him more real and less of an enigma. And his eyes recently had seemed less intimidating and more warm, comforting even.

But even in that brief moment before he drew his gaze back towards the road, his eyes still held a hidden danger in their depths, something fierce that made Clarke shiver.

In a good way.

"Thanks, princess," Bellamy said, his soft, gravelly voice breaking the silence gently.

"For what?"

"For holding me back from punching Lincoln in the face," Bellamy said bluntly and simply, as was his way. Clarke was incredibly surprised that he was thanking her for such a thing. The older Blake seemed to be the kind of person who might pride himself in standing up for his sister, even if it was in a dominating, disrespectful way.

Bellamy noticed her surprise. "Hey, I know that I can be a little too much sometimes."

"A little?" Clarke smirked.

"Enough with the sass" Bellamy countered quickly and Clarke couldn't help but laugh.

It was already dark when they turned into the antique store and Bellamy noted with gratitude that the store was still open. As Clarke got out of the truck, she was once again struck at how natural it was to hang around Bellamy. He could be a stubborn ass sometimes but once his walls were lowered, he wasn't too bad.

As they walked into the shop, Clarke was surprised by the amount of things could be stuffed into one store. There were vinyls, lights, wedding dresses, baby clothes, furniture of all kinds, books and toys. Before Clarke could stop him, Bellamy went straight passed the tables towards the books.

"Uh Bellamy," Clarke said following him as he browsed through the historical nonfiction books, his eyes scanning the titles and his arms already full of books, " _Julius Caesar: The Life and Times of the People's Dictator_ , is not, I will remind you, what we are looking for."

"Did you know that Octavia was named after Augustus' sister?" Bellamy said as if she hadn't said anything, his eyes still roving over the titles. "I named her," he said, turning toward her with those intense eyes of his, studying to see her reaction to this random share of intimate information. Clarke wondered, as her heart fluttered, if there would be a point where those eyes would not physically affect her.

"Why did you name her that?"

"Octavia the Younger was always known for her devout loyalty and her prominence in a time where men ruled," Bellamy replied, his gaze returning to the bookshelves. "I wanted that for Octavia. Although," he added, pausing, "She's much more of an Amazonian woman than any virtuous Roman wife. Octavia is pretty fierce," he said, the pride evident in his voice.

Clarke liked this side of Bellamy, the one who was gazing at books lovingly and talking about his sister with complete adoration. It was surprising in comparison to the tough exterior he always seemed to put up when she first met him. His fascination with learning made her curious about the Roman Empire, a subject that had never peaked her interest in school, if she were being honest.

As Bellamy became distracted by a copy of _The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples_ , she allowed herself to browse the shelves, until she found the art section. Although, like in most used book stores, there weren't many art books, she felt her inner artist smile with glee as she picked up various titles on the use of color and sketching techniques. It was always so interesting to her to look at older art books because, like humanity, art seemed to constantly change yet the heart of it always stayed the same.

"I didn't realize you were interested in art," Bellamy said, his attention now full on her, his arms laden with books.

Clarke blushed under his gaze before turning back to the books at hand, "I actually wanted to be an artist at some point," she said, her eyes glued to the bookshelf. She felt his warm presence as Bellamy stepped closer to look over her shoulder right as she found a title they could both find interesting: _Classic Art: From Greece to Rome._

She turned to him to show him only to find him even closer than she had imagined, his head bent low enough that their noses brushed as she turned and Clarke's heartbeat went from a quickened pace to a gallop, her light eyes locked onto his dark ones. She backed up until she was sandwiched between the bookcase and Bellamy who had seemingly subconsciously moved forward to match her step back.

This close, Clarke couldn't help but look at his lips and notice a slight scar right about them. They looked surprisingly soft for someone who sometimes seemed a little too tough at times. When she realized what she was doing, Clarke immediately looked up into Bellamy's again.

 _Mistake_.

Eyes that were always intense seemed to swallow her whole and she knew that he had noticed her looking at his lips. He took a step closer and Clarke's breath caught in her throat with excitement.

" _Oops I did it again to YOUR HEARRTTT got lost… IN THIS THING OH BABY"_

Brittany Spears' voice erupted from Bellamy's pocket and he stepped back and quickly pulled out his cell phone.

"O. Seriously. You need to stop changing my ringtone." Was it just Clarke or did Bellamy's voice sound a little… breathless?

Clarke couldn't hear the other girl's response but when she Bellamy's face blanche, she assumed it was about the table they hadn't even tried to look for yet.

"Uh yeah O. Who do you think I am? We are looking at a pretty decent looking chestnut one right now…" Bellamy looked over at Clarke and grinned sheepishly at his lie.

Bellamy ended his conversation with his sister and they finally walked over to the table section of the store. Thankfully, finding a sturdy chestnut table that could fit the entirety of Bellamy's clan of ranch hands wasn't too hard to find. Before long, it was plopped into the bed of Bellamy's truck and they were heading back.

After a seemingly quick ride that fluctuated in teasing conversations (hey it was better than arguing) or comfortable silence, they arrived back at the ranch. As Clarke stepped out of the truck, she couldn't help but gaze up at the stars. As much as she missed New York City sometimes, it could never compete with a beautiful night like this. And for the first time in a long time, her heart didn't have that painful squeeze it usually did whenever she thought about that city and what she had left behind there when she returned to Texas.

As Clarke walked into the kitchen (Bellamy had run off for extra help carrying the table out of the truck), she was greeted with a pleasant aroma that immediately reminded her tummy of how hungry she was.

Lincoln was at the counter, rolling out dough while Octavia sat at the bar on a stool watching him with a smile on her face.

"Octavia," Clarke said, instantly in healer mode, "you really should sit in a chair with a back on it; you don't want to fall and hurt your ribs again."

Octavia turned to her and rolled her eyes, "you're almost as bad as Bellamy. Let me live."

Clarke sighed and next to her, knowing, even from just three weeks, that you had to choose your battles when it came to the Blakes.

"So, what are ya'll cooking?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Chicken pot pie," Lincoln grinned as he began taking the dough and placing it around the sides of a casserole dish.

"Really?" Clarke moaned, "I am so jealous!"

As she said this, Bellamy came in carrying the table with Anya and another girl with long dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was very pretty.

"Well then," Anya said as she set down the table like it weighed nothing-Clarke knew otherwise. "Why don't you stay and help us eat it?"

"There's definitely enough for a small country here," Lincoln said as he placed the fifth large pie into the oven. Clarke had to give it to him, the man definitely knew how to work fast.

"Well, I don't want to impose…" Clarke said it but she didn't really mean it. There was no way she would be able to say no to homemade chicken pot pie, not when frozen meals were waiting for her at home. And after such an exhausting shift at the hospital last night, a full belly was the best way to start her next 12 hours off.

"Oh whatever, Clarke," Bellamy smirked at her, "you're basically drooling."

"I am not!"

"Leave the girl alone, Bell," said the other girl, playfully jabbing Bellamy in the ribs with her elbow. "If I recall, you are definitely not one to say no to homemade food, even when no one is offering," she teased.

"Oh wait! Are you talking about that time Bellamy stole a cherry pie from y'all's professor?" Octavia laughed.

"Wait, what!" Clarke turned accusingly to Bellamy.

"No, no! They're talking out of context. It's not as bad as it sounds," Bellamy proclaimed, looking a bit flustered.

"Not what it seems?" the girl laughed, "you literally took it off of her desk and ate the whole thing before she could even speak!"

"Why else would anyone bring a pie to class if they weren't going to share it?!"

"It was for her daughter's birthday after class!"

"How was I supposed to know that?!" Bellamy's freckled cheeks by this point had turned cherry red.

"You certainly could have asked before plopping the whole thing in your mouth. I would have been surprised if I hadn't already been educated on how talented you are with that part of your anatomy beforehand," at this the girl winked at Bellamy.

"Harper! Keep your SICK details about my brother to yourself!" Octavia complained with a pained expression on her face.

 _So this is Harper_ , Clarke thought, her stomach clenching uncomfortably. _This is the girl that Bell used to sleep with_. It shouldn't have bothered her. But it did. When she braved a glance at Bellamy, he was already staring at her, as if trying to gauge her reaction.

"I need a drink," Clarke said thoughtlessly, immediately wishing the vulnerability of her words wasn't so apparent. Thankfully, Octavia jumped in.

"Now THAT'S a girl with a plan. Anyone up for trying out my Cards Against Humanity drinking game?"

Clarke was immediately interested.

"What are the rules?" asked Anya as she sat next to Clarke at the counter.

"Take a shot everytime someone doesn't pick your card!" Octavia said with evil glee.

"O, we would all die. Trust me I'm a doctor," Clarke said.

Lincoln grinned at Clarke before he pulled out the chicken pot pies from the oven, "Let me guess, you've been waiting years to be able to say that."

Clarke blushed, "Maybe."

"Okay, fine I concede." Octavia put her hands in the air in defeat, "maybe we could change the rules up a bit."

Before Octavia could continue, dinner was served, piping hot from the oven. Clarke never really got many homemade dinners even when she was a child; her mother and father had both been very busy. Clarke certainly complain about the delicious take out that she got experience as a child, but a nice chicken pot pie was rarely on the menu. Luckily, Lincoln turned out to be quite the cook. If Octavia hadn't already claimed the man, Clarke could have easily fallen in love with him based solely on his cooking skills.

After dinner, Anya made a huge plate for Roan who was resting in the guest bedroom upstairs. Apparently, Bellamy felt that it was best for Roan to be at the central house while the ranch hand began to recover from his wounds.

After Anya left, they began a wonderful/terrible game of Cards Against Humanity that involved taking shots every four times that your card wasn't picked.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT CHOOSE ANNE FRANK?! IT'S ANNE FRANK!" Slurred Clarke an hour into the game. It was tough playing a game so based on your working knowledge of the players when she didn't really have a working knowledge of the players. The only breaks she got between shots were when she was choosing cards for Octavia or Bellamy and sometimes Lincoln. Bellamy more so than the others but she wasn't drunk enough to admit that even to herself.

Octavia shook her head furiously, "Clearly, the cocaine card was the correct option. Woahhh I'm dizzy," she said and stopped shaking her head. Thankfully, Clarke was certainly not the only one completely intoxicated.

"I'm leaving!" Harper said a few minutes later when her "chugging a lava lamp" card wasn't chosen for Bellamy's "What is my secret power?" card. She threw the cards down as she got up.

Bellamy looked over at Lincoln and Octavia who were probably a bit too close for Big Brother and said, "Fine. Be a sore loser. But take him," he pointed at Lincoln, "with you." Lincoln immediately stood up, clearly not wanting to push his luck, and followed Harper out the door.

Annoyed, Octavia harrumphed and then stomped her way up the stairs without a backwards glance.

Leaving Clarke and Bellamy to clean up the chaos of cards left behind.

As they began collecting the cards, it suddenly dawned on Clarke two glaring mistakes: one, there was no way in HELL she could drive anywhere; two, she knew, from Octavia's tour of the ranch house last week, that there was only one guest room because, as Octavia had complained, the other one had become Bellamy's game room (at the time Clarke hadn't thought it would be a good idea to point out that the third guest room was currently O's theatre room), and three, that left Clarke with nowhere left to sleep. Especially because she was fairly certain that Lincoln would be making a return trip when Bellamy was not looking; Clarke highly doubted that Octavia would be sleeping alone tonight.

As if reading her thoughts, Bellamy looked at her before putting the card box away on a shelf in the pantry. "So. Looks like you'll be sleeping in my room tonight," he said nonchalantly.

Clarke felt her face flush in indignation and embarrassment. _The nerve!_ "I uh no I mean…" she stuttered before closing her mouth completely, cursing the alcohol that was making her sound like moron.

"Relax, Princess," he said, his grin doing funny things to her lower regions, "I know you're excited to get in my bed but I have a strict rule about sleeping with drunken women. And that rule is: never. I'll be sleeping on the couch… this time."

He was teasing her and it was annoying but she was grateful that he knew innately what she was concerned about. Although admittedly, her drunken self was not pleased with his gentlemanly answer.

"I'm not going to kick you out of your bed," Clarke said, pouting.

Bellamy paused _(Is he staring at my mouth?)_ before responding, "You're my guest. It's my house. My rules."

He turned and Clarke had no choice but to follow him up the stairs until he stopped and opened a door to let her in.

"If you wake up feeling like you need a shower," Bellamy said, leaning against the door frame in the dark. "There is one in there and extra towels under the sink."

"Thank you," Clarke said looking up at his eyes in the dark, her face only a few inches away from his. The electricity that was always a gentle murmur whenever they were together began to buzz between them, making her feel even headier than the 6 shots of tequila had earlier.

"Anytime," Bellamy whispered back, his eyes never leaving her face. Without warning, he reached his hand and stroked her face before just as quickly pulling his hand away and stepping back.

"We can't have royalty sleeping on the couch now can we?" he said, his smirk back in place, the intimate moment between them immediately dissolved.

And then, without so much as a goodnight, he was gone.

 _Notes: Okay, is my English major showing? I didn't even mean to spend that much time on books but there it is... hope you liked it! Sorry for the late update. I promise that I'll be better next time! I should be updating again in about a week and a half. Let me know what you think!_


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